Keeneland Hits a High Mark in Attendance

The just completed fall meet at Keeneland saw the largest number of race fans ever. Over its 17 days, just over 250-thousand spectators visited the Lexington track. The previous high mark was set in Spring, 2006 with slightly more than 244-thousand patrons for 15 days of racing. Keeneland spokeswoman Julie Balog adds the among of money gambled was up nine percent.

“And when you have big full fields like we did from a wagering standpoint, bettors look at that and they gravitate toward wagering on those types of races because the payoffs are so good. From an attendance standpoint, I think the fact that it was our 75th anniversary certainly raised the profile in many people’s minds,” said Balog.

The success comes on the heels of a strong September yearling sale at Keeneland. Spokeswoman Julie Balog says Keeneland can now focus on next week’s sale of breeding stock.

“We start the November breeding stock sale on November seventh….it would be great if all of these things are indicators that…not only is the local economy starting to turn, but perhaps the industry as a whole is starting to turn that all important corner..it would be great but we’ll know a little bit more at the end of November,” added Balog.

Although there were some dreary days during the fall meet, Balog says most of the rainy weather came on weekdays…leaving the highly popular weekends clear and dry.